Heartbreak
by Sakura Ani
Summary: Sora's pushing all her friends away... what could be her reason? This is a pretty sad fic (both ways). Taiora, with a side dish of Takari.. enjoy...
1. part 1

I'm surprised that I didn't finish this first, being as how I love Taioras more than any other couple cause they're so sweet, so beautiful, so cute and etc... etc... etc... You get what I'm saying...

Anyways... this one's pretty sad, and, please don't get on my case about any medical terminology or stuff like that, I'm no genius... I don't know this from that, I just needed it to write the fic....

So, here it is.... I don't know exactly how sad it is, I didn't intend it to be too sad, but....

Well, I don't own Digimon... so let's begin the story. Oh yeah, I'm not good at titling stories and such like that, so... bear with me here.

________________________________________________________________________________

Heartbreak

by Jade

part 1

A leaf floated down from the tall tree and landed on the bench below right next to a young 18-year old girl. The strand of her auburn hair blew into her face from the light breeze, yet she remained emotionless; staring out at nothing, though thoughts were traveling through her head more than usual.

Beside her, was a large manila business envelope. Inside this envelope laid the reason to her expressionless face and the devastation she was feeling inside of her heart and mind. Along with that, came the emptiness she was beginning to feel from the actions she had chosen to take; the people she had pushed away...

She buried her head in her hands and closed her eyes. She didn't cry. Didn't even shed a tear. What was done had been done. There was no way she could fix it now and there was no way for it to be fixed at all. She had already spent the past couple days crying her eyes and her heart out.

__

Why me? she thought miserably, _Why me?_

She heard foot steps approach her, but chose not to look up. She figured it was probably another person wandering aimlessly through the park and had just happened to notice her sitting there in an air of loneliness and so out of generosity, decided to see what was wrong.

A hand was placed gently on her shoulder giving her a familiar warmth that she quickly dismissed. She could feel the person sit down next to her.

"Go away," she said trying unsuccessfully to sound tart. Her voice only came out in her usual sweet tone with the obvious hint of pain and hurt.

"Sora." Her eyes opened and she felt shock and surprise. That voice... she knew that voice anywhere. It was the sweetest voice she could remember. The voice that made her smile. The voice that was so soothing and calming... and loving.

Slowly, she lifted her head and looked into those big chocolate brown eyes as she felt tears begin to form in her own ruby crimson ones. She suddenly felt most of the emptiness inside of her fade away. Those eyes always had that affect on her. They gave her a sense of warmth and a sense of reassurance. And most of all, they gave her answers. She could always look into those eyes and feel an understanding of anything she ever doubted in her life.

She quickly looked away feeling that this time, there wouldn't be answers or understanding in those eyes. She wouldn't be able to find the answers she wanted. She'd never be able to understand again. She didn't want to see those eyes. She didn't want to see the owner of those beautiful spheres of love and understanding. Most of all, she didn't want those eyes to see her.

He placed his hand on the side of her face and gently pulled her back to face him. He smiled sadly at her wiping away a tear that had managed to escape from her eyes. This only caused more tears to well up.

She pulled herself up off of the bench and tried to get away, but her friend wouldn't let her go. He stood and grabbed her arm forcing her back around to face him once again. He wanted her to look at him. He needed her to know that he cared. He needed her to understand.

Unable to control her emotions anymore, she broke down in his arms and cried on his shoulder. He held her tightly not wanting to ever let her go for fear she'd run away from him again; and this time leave him... forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~

(Earlier)

Cheery thoughts flowed through her head. _This so far has been a wonderful day,_ Sora thought as she stared dreamily up at the ceiling. Her best friend had called her earlier that morning and asked her to meet him in the park.

She sighed contentedly. By the sound of his voice, she knew that he had something important to tell her. And she knew that it was good. _Maybe he's finally going to ask me out,_ she thought happily. All her friends had been dropping hints and she knew that this day would come soon. She just wished it didn't have to be so long...

"Sora Takenouchi," the nurse called out to the room of waiting patients. The teenage girl shook her thoughts away and stood to walk over. "You're here for a routine check up?" the nurse asked. Sora smiled and nodded.

"Your file says that you were just here a week ago," the nurse said flipping through a beige folder.

"Yes, I was, Ma'am," Sora replied, "But Dr. Rei called yesterday and scheduled me for a second check up." She shrugged indicating that she didn't understand the reasons.

"Alright, then," the nurse smiled, "You may go in now. Follow me." She turned and walked down the hall followed by a still cheery Sora.

----------

"Finally, man!" Matt slapped his friend a high-five, "You've waited long enough."

"What are you talking about?" Tai blushed.

"Come on," the tall blonde said, "It's about time you decided to ask her out. You've been in love with her since the beginning of time. I mean, if it wasn't for your bull-headedness and all that 'we're just friends' bull crap, you two would probably be married by now."

"We're only eighteen," Tai pointed out to Matt.

"Who cares? You two are hopelessly in love," TK plopped down on the couch next to his friend and brother. There was a sly twinkle in his azure blue eyes.

"Technically," Izzy said, "those two already act like a married couple. If you observe the way they fight and the way they talk to each other-"

"You don't have to observe," Matt cut off the red-headed computer genius, "You can just sense it."

"There's love in the air," TK agreed with his brother.

"Speaking of love," Tai said trying to change the subject, "Kari's been a little edgy lately. Did you do something wrong, TK?" He smiled deviously.

"Don't change the subject," the cute young blonde boy said, "We're talking about you here."

"He's right," Matt said, "We're talking about you."

"We've already talked about me," Tai said.

"We'll talk about you more," TK said. He and his brother chuckled, "So, how are you going to go about doing this? Flowers? A love poem? A gift?"

The three teens leaned in toward Tai and held their breaths waiting for a reply.

"Well..." Tai began. He thought for a while, "I haven't really thought about that. All I did was ask her to meet me in the park today."

An exasperated expression crossed his three friends' faces at the exact same time. Matt shook his head and TK slapped his forehead. Izzy rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer.

"What do you expect?" Tai countered, "It's not like I'm experienced. I've never asked a girl out before."

"Typical Tai," TK said letting out a sigh.

"What?" Tai asked confused. He then glanced at the clock in Matt's living room and sprang to his feet knocking his chair over, "Oh man!"

"What's wrong?" the other three asked at the same time.

"I have to go," Tai said, "I told her to meet me in the park at noon. It's eleven forty-five already. I gotta go." Without another word, he dashed out of the house leaving behind his friends who were laughing their heads off.

"So, TK," Matt said after recovering from fits of laughter, "What's this I hear about Kari being a little edgy?"

"Tai's an idiot," TK mumbled after a long pause.

More laughing broke out from the three young males.

----------

Sora stood by the edge of the street. Her expression was illigible. She stared off at nothing in front of her trying to decide whether or not she still wanted to meet Tai in the park. A lump formed in her throat as she unwittingly took a step out onto the street as a car neared.

There was a loud honk from the car and Sora was yanked off of the street and back onto the sidewalk by a familiar pair of strong arms. She looked up to face the one person she had wanted to see after receiving her news, but now, she wasn't so sure she wanted him to see her.

__

"Sora," the doctor's words began to echo through her mind again, though she tried to block them out,_ "Please, take a seat..."_

"Hey," Tai looked into her ruby crimson eyes, "You need to start watching where you're going. Are you okay?" He gave her his famous lopsided grin. The grin that he only gave to her, that always made her feel giddy and happy all over. But this time, her heart sank and she fought to hold back tears. Her face remained expressionless not wanting to show him what she was feeling at the moment.

__

"You're probably wondering why I've asked you to come back for another check up..." There had been a solemn expression on the doctor's face that Sora didn't even take notice of. Her mind had been on something, or rather, someone, all morning.

She nodded, "I- I'm fine." She finally forced herself to smile, "What are you doing here?"

__

"After your check up a week ago... I came across something disturbing..." Sora only gave Dr. Rei a confused look, but didn't speak to her.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Tai teased, "We were supposed to meet in the park at noon."

"Oh," Sora said. She faked a smile, "I remember."

"Well," Tai said. _Gotta ask her now,_ "There's something I need to tell you and I might as well say it now."

__

"I've gone through your past medical records and even your family medical records... And after inspecting your charts again after this check up..." her voice had trailed off as if trying to find a way to tell Sora her the results. Sora's joyous expression had immediately disappeared and became blank.

"Is there something wrong, Doctor?" she asked hesitantly, receiving only a saddened expression.

"Sora," she said after letting out a huge sigh, "There's something that you need to know..."

Sora didn't answer Tai. Her smile faded and she looked down. Tai, being too worried about how he would open up to Sora, failed to notice the sudden change in attitude Sora displayed before him. She tried as hard as she could to choke back tears.

__

"And I assure you that this is just an assumption... I know that you've had close family members die of heart diseases," Dr. Rei said. Sora nodded remembering that her grandmother had had a heart attack and her aunt had been killed by congestive heart failure. She could even recall that her mother has some kind of heart disease also. She held her breath as she listened to her doctor speak. She didn't like one bit of where this conversation was going.

"Sora," Tai began taking a deep breath. He tipped Sora's head toward his, "I- I know for a fact that- Well- I don't know how to say this..." _Oh, what the hell... _Tai thought.

"What is it, Tai?" Sora asked.

"This'll explain everything," Tai said. Sora gave him a confused look as she continued to cover her sadness, but was caught off guard when Tai suddenly leaned in close and planted his lips right onto her.

Sora felt shocked, but she willingly let herself return the kiss as she fell into his embrace. She closed her eyes and felt her own arms move up to touch Tai's face. His hands touched hers and she knew she was dreaming. To her, this was the best feeling ever. Surprising herself, Sora found herself pulling Tai closer to her, not wanting to let go. They pulled each other deeper into the kiss. She had wanted this for the longest time and now...

__

"Sora," Dr. Rei said, "What I'm about to tell you... Sora, I heard a slight murmur when I was listening to your heartbeat. And I've also viewed your past records. You were admitted into the hospital at the age of two when you had a heart attack. But that was taken care of. I must say, though-" the doctor chuckled trying to lessen the tension unsuccessfully, "-cases of heart attacks at that young of an age aren't common."

"What are you trying to say, Doctor?" Sora asked as a chill ran up her spine. She already knew what Dr. Rei would say.

"Sora," Dr. Rei's expression again saddened, "The doctors had tried to treat the heart problem you had when you were younger. They thought that they had taken care of the problem, but... you never know about things like this... The same thing had happened to your aunt. She was admitted into the hospital at a very young age because of a heart attack and because she never had very many formal check ups, her heart problem crept up on her without anyone even knowing and it became too late to help her... You may have the exact same heart problem your aunt had before she died, Sora." Sora slumped back in shock. She bit her lip. Quickly, Dr. Rei added, "But your condition is different. It was discovered early and so we might be able to treat it before it gets any worse." But these last two sentences just floated right by Sora's mind.

"Are you sure, Doctor?" she said without emotion.

Dr. Rei just nodded sadly. It seemed to hurt her a lot to have to know this. But Dr. Rei had been a good friend of Sora's family for a long time, "I'm sorry, Sora."

"Sora, I love you," Tai whispered, his lips still against hers.

Sora immediately opened her eyes and pushed Tai away. An angry and hurt expression appeared on his face, "Sora?"

"Tai," Sora said holding her hand in front of her, "We can't- You can't love me." She didn't understand what she was doing. But she knew she had to do it.

"What are you talking about?" Tai asked.

"I said, you can't love me," Sora said, knowing that she wasn't making any sense, "Tai, we haven't even started dating yet. How can you love me?"

"It doesn't matter," Tai said, "We've known each other forever. We've been best friends since we were very little. I know there are feelings between us, unlike regular friends or couples. This doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we've even started dating. I love you, Sora!"

"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't love me, Tai. You can't," she looked down sadly and closed her eyes.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about!" Tai fumed.

Sora took a step back, looked up at the love of her life, and bit her lip choking back her tears, "No you don't, Tai! You don't love me. You can't!"

"What's so wrong with loving you?" Tai asked stepping toward her.

Sora took another step away from him, "You just can't!"

"Why not?! Give me a good enough reason-" he was at the brink of yelling.

"Because I don't love you!!" she screamed. Her hand went to her mouth as soon as she realized what she had said. She had wanted to find a good reason, but she hadn't meant to say that she didn't love him, because everything Tai had said was right. They had known each other for the longest time and both had had feelings for the other, but were in denial for so long. Her heart knew that this was the man she loved, but right now... it just didn't seem possible for them to be together.

Tai's anger faded and only a look of shock and hurt was left. He backed away and whispered, "I don't understand."

__

It worked though, Sora thought sadly taking a deep breath and trying to blink away the tears that began to show. She let out a sad sigh and mumbled, "You wouldn't understand." She hung her head, "I'm sorry, Tai."

"Why, Sora?"

Sora remained quiet, but her head perked up at what Tai said next. She felt hurt and angry, but knew that she had equally hurt him.

"Is it because of someone else?" Tai said suddenly, "It's another guy isn't it?"

Sora looked up at him sadly, "Whatever you want to think." She didn't want that to be the reason, but she didn't want to say anymore. She turned around and walked away from him holding a large manila business envelope in her hand that Tai hadn't even noticed. Tears were streaming down her face and her heart had just been ripped out. She knew that nothing could possibly hurt more than this... and it hurt her even more to know that Tai was experiencing the same amount of pain, maybe evern worse.

----------

"Get up!" Kari tugged at her older brother's arm, "You've been moping all day. What's wrong with you?" Her strength gave out and she found herself crashing onto the floor behind her. Angrily, she got to her feet and stood next to Tai's bed.

"Tai," she continued. She saw the tired and solemn expression on his face, "Tai, is something wrong?"

Tai just looked at her and closed his eyes. He had been rejected by the one girl he loved and on top of that, she had told him that she didn't love him. He rolled over to face the wall, "Leave me alone."

"You've been in bed all day," Kari said, "Tai, if there's something wrong, you have to tell me. I'm your sister. I hate seeing you like this." She sighed when he didn't answer. With a grim expression, she went out into the hall and picked up the phone.

After one ring, someone picked up the other line, "Hello."

"TK?" Kari said loving the sound of her boyfriend's voice.

"Didn't we just part?" TK asked teasing the girl, "You couldn't wait to hear my voice again could you?"

"As much as I'd like to admit that," Kari giggled, but immediately became serious, "I didn't call for you. I called for Matt."

"Matt?" a look of confusion had come over TK's face, "Why would you want to talk to Matt? Is there something going on-?" Kari giggled at her silly boyfriend. He sounded half panicked, half playful.

"Looks like Kari's finally seeing the real good-looks of this family," a voice yelled from the background.

"Funny, Matt," TK called back. He spoke back into the phone, "What do you need Matt for?"

"It's about Tai," Kari said sadly.

"Is everything okay?" TK asked.

"What's wrong?" Matt's voice said in the back.

"It's about Tai," TK said to him, to Kari he said, "What's wrong with Tai?"

"I don't know," Kari said, "When he came home, he just went straight to bed and he's been lying there all day. I'm getting really worried. He wouldn't even come out for dinner. Do either of you know what's wrong with him?"

TK and Matt exchanged looks that Kari couldn't see as she waited patiently for an answer.

"Kari," TK's gentle voice said, "We'll be right over."

"Okay," Kari said then hung up after she heard a click on the other end.

----------

Sora lay in her bed staring up at her ceiling. She sighed sadly. The only thing she could think of was her best friend. She mentally beat herself up for saying what she had said to him, but also kept telling herself that it had to be done. Why, though... she didn't even know herself. Was she trying to protect him? Protect him from what? From the hurt and the pain that could possibly be caused to the both of them if they became any closer from the result of declaring their love to each other? Then does that mean she was protecting herself, too?

"Sora!" her mother's voice called from the living room, "Telephone. It's a long distance call from New York!"

"I'll get it in here, Mama," Sora said picking up the phone next to her bed, "Hello."

"Sora!" a shrill yet excited voice cried out, "How's everything going?"

Sora smiled at the familiar childish voice, "Hey, Mimi."

"I can't believe I haven't called you in days," Mimi screamed like a pre-teen adolescent, "It seemed like ages. But, Daddy told me that I couldn't call you everyday. You know, long distance bills and all."

"But Mimi," Sora said. She pulled herself up and leaned against the wall next to her bed, "Since you called me, wouldn't I be the one accepting the long distance charges."

"That's right, huh?" Mimi was silent as if thinking, "Well, why don't we hang up and you call me so Daddy can accept the charges?" She smiled on the other line.

"Nah," Sora chuckled, "That's alright Mimi."

"No, I insist," Mimi said, "Call me back." Before waiting for Sora to protest, there was a click on the other line. Sora sighed and did what Mimi had asked.

"Much better now," Mimi's voice sounded as soon as the other line picked up.

"Okay," Sora said, "But you really didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry, Sora," Mimi giggled, "Daddy's credit card will cover everything."

Sora laughed at her silly friend.

For the next ten minutes, the two girls spent chattering about almost everything they could think of: clothes, shopping, more shopping, how life in New York was... Sora had almost forgotten her little incident today: receiving the news about her health condition, rejecting Tai and having a huge argument with him...

"So," Mimi asked suddenly as the two neared the topic of boys, "Have you told him yet? Did he ask you out? When I called Matt, I was told that the man of your dreams was ready to ask you out." She giggled excitedly in the background after proudly stating the information she had obtained.

Sora was taken aback, "Wha- what are you talking about Mimi?"

"I'm talking about the love of your life," Mimi said, "You know? The one man you'll ever love. You said so yourself."

"I don't remember saying anything about that-" Sora began to protest, but she knew that Mimi was right.

"Of course you did!" Mimi squealed, "You said you had a crush on him ever since soccer camp. You know, a certain tall, athletic, muscular, brown haired..."

"Mimi-" Sora tried to cut into her friend's rambling.

"...loves soccer just like you, is quite handsome at times..." Mimi continued.

"Mimi," Sora tried to cut in again.

"...has been your best friend since the beginning of time, the guy you dream of every night... Oh, and he loves you so-"

"Mimi!" Sora suddenly said so sternly and with rage that Mimi gasped. Her jaw gaped and there was a confused and hurt look in her eye. Sora gasped too, "I'm so sorry, Mimi. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just- I-" She didn't know what to say. She had this nagging feeling that told her not to say anything. Not even to her best girl friend.

"Is something wrong, Sora?" Mimi asked softly. She no longer sounded like the childish silly little girl. Now she sounded more mature and grown up. So much more serious than she had before. Mimi had grown up a lot since the last time she was with all her friends. Before, she was only a Daddy's little girl who seemed spoiled rotten. But after meeting up with all her friends and going through a lot of tough times, she had grown up and was no longer the spoiled ditz that everyone thought she was. At times, she could be a little ditzy, but when it came time to being serious, she was a completely different person.

"Mimi, I-" Sora stopped. _How am I supposed to tell her? Mimi, I'm dying of a heart disease, the same one that took my aunt and the same one that almost took me when I was only two years old? No, I can't do that. I can't worry her._ Sora sighed softly hoping that Mimi couldn't hear the sadness in it, "Mimi, I- I-" She closed her eyes, "Nothing, Mimi. Nothing's wrong. I've just been really stressed lately."

"Sora-" Mimi began. Being one of Sora's best friends for so long, she didn't buy that reason thrown at her. She knew that something was wrong.

"Really, Mimi," Sora cut her off, "I'm really fine. Honest. I have to go now. Mama needs me in the flower shop. Bye."

"Wait, Sor-" Sora hung up before Mimi could put in another word. She could feel that lump in her throat again. The next thing she knew, tears were flowing down her face at a furious rate as she cried softly to herself hugging her pillow tightly to her face.

----------

"Let's try this," Matt walked into Tai's room with a cup of ice-cold water. He stood over Tai who was staring blankly up at the bunk above him, oblivious to what his friend was planning on doing. Matt looked at Tai and spoke, "Last chance, Tai. You either get up out of that bed, or I take drastic measures."

Tai continued to stare at the bunk not even acknowledging the crowd of people in his room. Matt glanced around the room at TK who stood beside Kari, then at Izzy who sat in a chair in front of the desk and then at the oldest of all his friends, Joe, who was shaking his head and mouthing, "That's not a very good idea, Matt."

Matt just shrugged and looked at Tai, "Alright, Tai. Don't say I didn't warn you..." He tipped the cup over above his best friend's head and drenched the teen with the cold water... The plastic cup that had been in Matt's hand flew into the air landing only a couple feet from Izzy. Everyone in the room widened their eyes at the not-so-surprising reaction from their friend, who was now soaking wet and had just tackled Matt to the ground in anger.

"What the heck did you do that for?!" Tai screamed ready to punch his best friend out.

"I already gave you enough warning!" Matt said shoving Tai off of him and then pulling _his_ arm back to attack _him._ Tai dodged the punch and tackled Matt in the stomach.

"Could I get some help here?!" Matt cried out not wanting to continue the fight.

Everyone finally snapped out of their space out. Joe and Izzy stepped up to pull their anger ridden friend off of the equally angry Matt before anymore damage could be done. Tai struggled for only a split second before another cup of cold water was splashed onto his face. He looked up and saw his sister standing before him in annoyance holding the plastic cup.

"Kari-?" Tai began.

"Are you awake yet, Tai?!" Kari cried out, "What's wrong with you, huh, Big Brother?"

Tai slumped down to the ground and hung his head sadly. He shook his head.

"Does this have anything to do with Sora?" TK asked. There was an immediate reaction from Tai. His head shot up and it looked as if his eyes began to tear up. There was an obvious look of hurt and pain from his expression.

"What happened?" Matt asked now standing and rubbing the back of his head.

Tai just shook his head.

"Tai," Kari knelt down beside him, "Tai, don't be like this. I don't like seeing you this way. When you hurt, I hurt too." She put a hand on her brother's shoulder.

He looked up into his sister's caring eyes. Unlike many other siblings, Kari and Tai had a special bond that made them able to know what each other was thinking if they looked deep enough. Their brother-sister relationship was unique compared to the relationships between other brothers and sisters. It was probably because of how special Kari was- she was always able to tell when something's wrong with a loved one. Immediately, Kari understood what was hurting her brother so much. Her eyes became teary, but she tried to keep herself calm.

"I'm so sorry, Tai," Kari said as she hugged him in a loving embrace.

Tai shook his head mumbling, "I don't understand. I just don't understand."

Kari looked up at her friends in the room sadly. Glances were exchanged while each of the boys made a pretty accurate guess at what Tai had been moping over- the only girl he had ever loved.

----------

"Sora Takenouchi," the same nurse from two days ago called out, "Dr. Rei will see you now."

Sora stood up sadly and walked into her doctor and long time family friend's office. She managed a weak smile as she lowered herself into the seat in front of Dr. Rei's desk. Dr. Rei smiled warmly at Sora hoping to cheer her up.

"How are you feeling Sora?" Dr. Rei asked. She felt stupid suddenly knowing how redundant that question was. Who would be feeling great after finding out that they could possibly have the same heart disease that killed a close family member?

Sora just gave Dr. Rei a smile.

"Well," Dr. Rei began, "To begin with, I've spoken to a couple doctors. Dr. Suyuan who was in charge of your aunt's and your grandmother's treatments before they died, Dr. Avalon who had been the one who treated you sixteen years ago when you had your first heart attack, and a few other cardiologists I could find."

"Dr. Rei?" Sora said, "You shouldn't have to do all this just for me." She realized that her doctor seemed to be doing more than her own share of work. Dr. Rei was only obligated to help treat her patients for minor health problems and recommend a good doctor for the more serious cases.

"I know, Sora," Dr. Rei said, "But you and your family have been good friends to me for so long. Your mother and I are almost like sisters. I just don't want to sit by and not do anything."

"Thank you, Dr. Rei," Sora smiled, "But wouldn't this be frowned upon by others. I mean, you're advocating favoritism..."

"No," Dr. Rei said, "If you don't remember, I do as much for all my patients as I do for those who are good friends. Unlike a lot of other doctors, I have a special relationship with my patients. But I'm sure no one can tell if I do just a little extra for one of my best friends' daughter." She smiled. She pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Sora.

"I was told that this medication would be able to keep your heart from over-working itself," Dr. Rei said, "Only take it once a day before you go to sleep. And this-" she handed Sora another slip of paper "-is a medication you are to keep with you at all times-" she took a deep breath "-in case of emergencies and only in case of emergencies." 

Sora nodded looking down at the second slip thinking, _Emergencies._ Her face tightened and she licked her dry lips nervously.

"Oh," Dr. Rei said, "And here-" she handed Sora a card "-is the name of a very good cardiologist. He's the best I know. I'd like to recommend that you go see him as soon as you can. He'll be able to tell you more about your, uh..." she gulped "...your condition." She smiled warmly again hoping to lessen the tension.

"I'm not an expert in this field of study," Dr. Rei said, "And I'm sorry, if I put you or your mother through any grief these last two days."

"You're just looking after me," Sora said, "I'll make sure to see this, uh-" she looked at the card and gaped at the name "Dr. Kido?"

"Is there something wrong?" Dr. Rei asked.

"Uh, no," Sora stuttered a little, "No- nothing's wrong."

"I really hope that you consider Dr. Kido," Dr. Rei said, "He's the best in the city."

----------

"Sora," Tai stood next to his best friend who was seated in the corner of the coffee shop staring blankly out into the streets.

Sora's head whipped up to meet those loving chocolate brown eyes, but could also see the hurt encompassed inside of them. She knew that she was the one who had caused all that pain and her heart sank. She continued to look at him with her own ruby eyes which contained the same hurt, trying to hide all her emotions. For only a split second, did she think about sharing with Tai the reasons for the way she acted days ago. She wanted to break down in his embrace and spill her heart out to him; to tell him that she really loved him and that she never meant to hurt him.

"Can we talk?" Tai took the seat across from her.

Sora looked down. She didn't want to speak to him. If she did, she feared that she might really break down. The past few days of not seeing him had caused her a lot of pain, but had at the same time calmed her fear of confrontation. Seeing him now only made her think of why she felt the empty void in her heart and why she had to push him away. She took a deep breath, though, and looked up at Tai, faking a bright smile.

"What do you want to talk about, Tai?" Sora asked with false cheeriness.

"I want to talk about us," Tai said.

Sora closed her eyes and sighed, "There really isn't anything to talk about. I believe we made ourselves very clear the last time we spoke."

"No," Tai said sternly, "I don't believe any of that. I know that most of what was said wasn't meant to be said. Sora-"

"You're right, Tai," Sora said. For a moment, a look of relief and joy came over Tai's face, but it faded when he heard what Sora had to say next, "Tai, there were some things said, that I've already made clear weren't meant to be. I told you that already. Now it's time for you to believe it yourself." She pushed her cup away from her and stood up.

"Sora, that's not what I meant-" Tai began, but realized that Sora wasn't even listening to him. He stood up and grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him, "Sora, you know what I'm talking about. And I know that deep down, you don't mean what you said."

Sora calmly, but hesitantly brushed Tai's hand off of her arm, "Tai. I've said what I said." She turned around and headed toward the door hearing Tai call her name, but refusing to turn around.

______________________________________________________________________________

Sorry to have to cut it off so suddenly right here, but I didn't realize how long this story was getting, but don't worry, if you like it so far, the next part will be up soon enough. I just need to proof read it another million times to make sure it's good enough for the public.... he he he.

Please, don't forget to review. Thanx. ^_^


	2. part 2

And here's part 2 of this fic... Told you it wouldn't take long for me to get it up. I only needed to reread and proof read it like a million times... I realize that this probably not going to be as good as I hoped it would turn out. However, I would love to thank all of you for your fantastic reviews. And since I'm not all that familiar with medical terminology, please forgive me...

I don't own Digimon... on with the story...

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Heartbreak

by Jade

part 2

"Uh oh," Joe said, "I'm late. This is going to be bad. Dad's going to be mad at me. Could this day get any worse?"

Joe rounded the corner as quickly as he could heading toward Odaiba Hospital where he interned. He had decided to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor and so was now training next to his father at Odaiba Hospital. Because of his high grades and great potential, it didn't even matter that he had direct relations within the top people of the hospital. It did, however, help him get along with many other top doctors who were all willing to help him achieve his goal.

But this also made the weight on his shoulders to be the best even heavier. As the son of the very respected top cardiologist, James Kido, Joe needed to make sure that he not only made himself look good, but he also had to make his father look good, by being an over achiever altogether.

Today was definitely not the day for him, he thought to himself as he sped down the sidewalk. He had stayed up late to finish his summer project, and slept right through his alarm clock going off. His father, having had been called into the hospital during the night for an emergency surgery, wasn't there that morning to make sure Joe was up in time.

SMACK!

Joe fell backwards after colliding blindly into an unsuspecting pedestrian who was just standing there absentmindedly. Papers were scattered around the two as each tried to collect themselves before getting back up to there feet.

"I am so sorry!" Joe cried out before he even looked to see who it was he had almost run over. He rubbed the small of his back and looked over to the auburn red haired girl who was pulling herself to her feet. He gasped, "Sora?"

The teen looked down at her older friend and smiled, "You really need to learn how to watch where you're going? You could easily take someone out with that speed." She bent down and began to pick up the papers that fell out of her business envelope.

"I'm sorry, Sora," Joe said, "I overslept and was in a hurry to get to the hospital before my dad decides to kill me. I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you okay?" He bent and began to help Sora gather her things. He caught a glimpse of one of the sheets which looked to him like medical papers, but shrugged it off. He figured that they belonged to Sora's mother, knowing that Mrs. Takenouchi had a heart problem.

"That's alright, Joe," Sora said, "You worry too much." She slipped the last sheet into her envelope and looked at her watch, "You might want to get going, Joe. Don't wanna be late, now do you? Your dad's going to be angry." At those words, Joe gave Sora a quick good-bye and then dashed off faster than he had ever run before. Sora laughed and shook her head, then headed home.

Joe was fortunate enough to make it to the hospital with five minutes to spare, but not enough time for him to catch his breath before he had to get ready for work.

"I was wondering where you were," Dr. Kido said to his son, "Usually you're here-" he looked at his watch "-fifteen minutes ago."

"I know, Dad," Joe said between breaths, "I overslept this morning. I'm sorry."

"No problem," Dr. Kido chuckled as he went through a clip board of papers, "As long as you're here." He walked over toward the receptionist and said, "I'll see the next patient now." He handed the clipboard to the nurse and headed back into his office. The nurse nodded and headed over toward the small waiting room outside of Dr. Kido's office. Joe decided that he'd better head off to where he was supposed to be before he got into any real trouble and headed out the door, just as he heard-

"Sora Takenouchi." Joe stopped in his tracks and looked at the nurse. She looked around the room and then called out again, "Sora Takenouchi. Dr. Kido will see you now." She looked around feeling a little irritated and confused. The patients in the room glance up at the nurse, but none made any acknowledgement that they were the person being called. "Sora Takenouchi? Excuse me, are any of you Miss Sora Takenouchi?" Again the patients glanced up, then back down. The nurse shrugged and turned back around to retrieve the next patient's clipboard.

Joe stood aghast. Sora? What had Sora been doing here? Where was she now? He slapped his forehead. Duh! Sora was on her way home. _You ran into her outside, remember?_ Joe still felt confused though. Why had Sora come here with an appointment to see his father?

Someone walked by Dr. Kido's office and called to Joe snapping him out of his thoughts. Joe looked up to see a friend of his who was also interning at the hospital and rushed out the door to his department, completely forgetting about what he was thinking about before.

----------

Sora sighed as she headed toward her house. She turned back around and looked toward Odaiba Hospital. She didn't know why she had left the hospital. She had shown up there so she could receive help and insight on her condition from Dr. Kido. But as she had sat there waiting for her turn to see the doctor, the more she worried she'd know the truth about how serious her heart problem really was. At the end, she acted on instinct and walked away.

__

Maybe I should go back, Sora thought, _I need to know how bad this really is. Maybe it's not so bad. Maybe it's only a minor problem. If it is just a minor problem..._ her face became hopeful, but then she frowned, "So what if it turns out to be a minor problem? I can't change what I've already done. He'd never forgive me. I've already hurt him. I don't want to hurt him again." She felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She brushed it away and blinked away the rest of the tears that threatened to overtake her.

She looked up and stopped in her tracks. Her friends stood in front of her apartment building awaiting her arrival. She took a deep breath and headed in their direction again faking that same bright smile she had been giving almost everyone who spoke to her.

"Sora," Matt began, "I think you know why we're here."

Sora shook her head and lied, "Actually, I don't. Why are you here?"

"Sora," Kari said still feeling the hurt she had felt from realizing her brother's pain, "Please, if there's something wrong, you know you can tell us." She looked at Sora pleadingly with her sad brown eyes- an exact replica of Tai's large chocolate brown ones, but which also gave a completely different effect. Sora turned her head away. That was the last thing, yet also one of the only things she wanted to see at the moment- something that would remind her of Tai.

"What makes you think that there's something wrong?" Sora smiled almost choking on her words.

"Cause I know you," Kari said, "I know that you love Tai and that you would never intentionally hurt him if you could help it."

"Kari..." Sora licked her dry lips and shook her head, "You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know?" TK interjected, "You won't even tell us what's going on, Sora. How do you know we wouldn't understand?"

Sora shook her head. She looked at the young blonde, then at Kari. She turned her attention to everyone else who was there: Matt, Izzy and even Yolei.

"Mimi called me this morning wanting to know how you were doing," Matt brought up, "She said that when she called you last and asked you about Tai, you hung up on her. I know there's something you're hiding. If not, then why do you keep avoiding the subject of you and Tai?"

"I just don't want to talk about it," Sora said. She brushed past her friends and headed up toward her house without saying another word. Again, she had fought her mind and her heart trying to decide whether or not she should just tell them. In the end, she came to the same conclusion she had many times before. It was best that she kept this to herself.

"Sora," Kari called to her. Sora stopped walking and slightly turned her head.

"Give me some time to myself," Sora said suddenly in the most sincere voice she'd used all week, aside from the faked cheeriness, "When I collect my thoughts, I'll try to explain everything." Without another word, she walked into her house, headed straight toward her room and broke down in tears after locking her bedroom door.

Outside, her friends just looked at each other and then walked away all hoping that Sora would really tell them what was going on with her.

----------

"I'm coming!" Sora called out remembering that her mom wasn't going to be home tonight. She headed toward her living room and made a left toward her front door where someone stood outside knocking at it for the last five minutes, "Hold on! I'll be right there." She pulled the door open, being careful not to fully unchain her door.

"Hey, Sora," the familiar older friend said pushing his glasses up.

"Joe?" Sora shut the door, unchained it and pulled the door back open, "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you," Joe said, "It's about something I found out today while I was at work."

Sora gave him a confused look, but invited him in and closed the door behind him.

"Sora," Joe began taking a seat on the couch in her living room, "I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me." He gave her a serious look when she chuckled thinking that he was trying to joke about something. Her face straightened and looked at the 'big-brother' like person in front of her.

"What is it Joe?" Sora asked sitting in the chair at the other end of the coffee table.

"Sora," Joe said, "is there something wrong with your health? And I'm not asking about a simple cold or flu. I'm asking about something more serious. Like a heart disease or heart problem."

Sora stiffened. Her smile faded and her face became expressionless again. She began to shake her head 'no' to deny the fact, but she knew that the expression on her face had already given away the answer.

"Does this have anything to do with why you rejected Tai?" Joe asked. Sora looked at him blankly, again, not answering. Joe sighed, "Sora, why are you doing this? Actually, the question should be, why are you putting yourself through this?"

Sora looked away feeling the tears well up in her eyes once again. She could feel the pain in her heart all over again from her sadness and emptiness.

"You're afraid," Joe said, "I can see it in your eyes. But why are you so scared? You know you can always come to any of your friends. We'll be behind you one hundred percent. You know that. And Tai. You know that Tai will always be there for you."

Sora shook her head, "I know, but that's not the problem." Her voice was cracking and tears were beginning to escape down her cheeks again.

"Then what is it?" Joe asked in a loving brotherly tone.

Sora looked at him with those hurt eyes, "I don't know. I'm- I just don't know what I'm so scare of."

"Sora-" Joe began.

"Joe, I need to be alone," Sora said wiping away her tears, "I need to collect my thoughts." She got up and walked toward her door.

"Sora, you can't hide from this-" Joe stood up.

"Joe," Sora said in her stern tone. He nodded understanding that she really wanted him to leave. He walked out the door, but not after Sora said one last thing, "Promise me you won't say anything to Tai or anyone else." Without waiting for a reply, Sora shut the door.

Joe sighed, "I guess, I'll just have to promise her." He remembered the code of confidentiality that he, as a part of the Odaiba Hospital staff, had to agree to. Unless a patient gave permission, he was to never speak of his or her problem to anyone else.

----------

Sora walked slowly down the sidewalk. She had made up her mind to go find Dr. Kido. And this time, she would stay for her appointment. She felt a need to know about her condition. She needed to know if there was any possibility that this would only be something minor enough to fully treat.

But she still felt fear about finding out. She stopped walking and whirled around thinking, _What if this is bad? What if this is worse than I thought?_ She shook her head not knowing whether or not she still wanted to go through with it. She turned and began heading home.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks as she felt a bit of pain shoot through her chest. It was then that she remembered she had forgotten to take the medication Dr. Rei had recommended for her- the one she was to take each night before she went to sleep. She slumped against the wall beside her and fumbled through her bag for the other medication- the one for emergencies only. Right now, it seemed practical.

She pulled out a small bottle of pills and cautiously, but quickly unscrewed the lid, while at the same time thinking, _If it hurts this much, this has got to be a serious case._ She held back tears of both fright and pain as she followed the directions of the medication, popping two of the small white pills into her mouth and then swallowing. She then put the lid back on the bottle and lowered herself to sit down.

After a couple seconds, her breathing became normal and the pain began to subside. She dropped the bottle back into her bag, but to her surprise, it missed and instead hit the ground and rolled off. Her eyes widened and she immediately reached for it, but it continued to roll away. She pulled herself up and hurried after the bottle as it continued down the sidewalk. Finally, though, it stopped... just as it hit the familiar looking sneakers of someone just passing by.

Sora panicked as the person bent over to pick up the bottle. She kept her head down as she awaited the predicted outburst from this person she knew.

"What's this?" the familiar male voice said. With his soft azure blue eyes, he glanced at the label unintentionally, but began to read it when his eyes spotted his friend's name and the kind of medication it was. He ran his hands through his blonde hair and looked at the older girl in front of him, "Sora?"

Sora took a deep breath and looked up. Her hand sprang out and she grabbed for the bottle, but missed when TK took a step back.

"What's going on Sora?" TK asked. He studied his friends tense, pale face already figuring out the answer.

"TK," Sora choked out, "please. Give that back." She reached for the bottle again and succeeded in retrieving it. She immediately dropped it back into her bag, making sure that this time it hit it's mark.

"Sora," TK's eyes softened, "Are you sick?"

Sora didn't answer him. She knew there was no way of denying it now. He had seen the evidence of a problem- her prescribed medication. She just hung her head and shook her head, not in denial, but in confusion and sadness.

"Is this why you're avoiding Tai?" TK asked in a concerned voice, "This is why you've rejected him. But why?"

"I don't know, TK," Sora let a tear slip down her cheek. She looked up to face him, "I just- It's for the best, TK."

"How is this for the best?" TK almost felt outraged, "Sora, you're obviously suffering from some sort of health problem-" he noted the pale complexion that was still on Sora's face "-And you're not letting any of your friends know about this. Why?"

"I just don't want anyone to worry... about me," Sora said sadly, "It'd be... too painful."

"Sora," TK shook his head, "You shouldn't keep things like this from friends. We all care about you a lot and you know it. You have to tell us these things. So we can care about you and share it with you. We would never let you battle this alone."

Sora bit her lip sadly and held back her tears. She looked into her young friends eyes which were now level with hers- being as how he had grown up so much over the years- and saw the sincere look he gave her. She totally and completely understood... but she still felt that this was a matter she needed to face alone.

"TK," Sora said, "Please... promise me you won't let anyone know. Please."

TK shook his head, "I can't do that Sora." He stared back at her crimson rubies and did all he could to fight the urge to buckle down and agree to keep her secret. He wanted to help his older friend- the girl who had taken care of him when no one else was ever around- the girl who was always like a mother to him... the older sister he never had... But he also knew how unhealthy and how wrong it'd be to not let his other friends know. As far as he knew, the group of friends were just like a big family... and if one of them were in trouble, they would all fight the battle together and share each other's sorrow.

"Please, TK," tears began to stream down her face. 

"I can't, Sora," TK took a step toward his "big-sister"-like friend, "Sora... you're just putting yourself through a lot of pain doing this." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Sora shook her head, "You don't understand."

"I understand that in trying to be selfless, you've succeeded in being selfish," TK said coldly. Sora looked at him hard and in confusion.

"TK-" Sora began as she wiped away her tears.

"No," TK shook his head, "Sora, listen to me. You say that you didn't want to tell any of us because you didn't want us to become saddened by this news, but at the same time, you've been pushing away all your friends." Sora shook her head and wanted to speak, but TK continued, "Did you think that by pushing us all away, by keeping things all to yourself it would make things better? Sora, the only thing that you've succeeded in doing is causing pain to all of us... more pain just by pushing us away... You won't talk to us, you won't even tell us what's going on. It hurt us a lot more when you avoid us... it makes us think you don't want us around anymore. You're not treating us like friends by doing this."

"TK," Sora began. She shook her head, "I never intended to hurt anyone at all. Not even Tai, but I just- I'm scared." She hung her head.

"What are you scared of?" TK asked, "Are you scared that we'll care about you and share you pain? Is that it?"

"No," Sora said, "I don't know what I'm scared of." She said this so softly that TK had to strain to hear.

"I know that it seems easier to just push everyone away and hope that we'll stop caring," TK said, "I know you, Sora. You're hoping that if we stop caring about you, then we won't hurt as much if something... happens to you."

Sora didn't speak. So far, everything that TK had said was right... and she knew it. She buried her face in TK's shoulder and sobbed quietly, being unable to fake her cheeriness any longer. TK embraced his big sister friend. She seemed so different... so fragile now. She was still like a big sister to him, having taken care of him all the time. But he knew that now it was his turn to comfort her and be there for her.

"TK," Sora said finally raising her head after a couple seconds, "I want to ask of you only one favor."

"Sora, I can't do it," TK repeated.

"No," Sora shook her head, "I just... I'll tell everyone about my problem... I want to tell them in person. I promise you I'll tell everyone. But I need just a little bit of time..." She still hung her head.

"How much time?" TK asked.

"I'm planning on seeing the doctor some time soon," Sora said, "and until then... I don't want to say anything yet. And I don't want you to tell anyone..."

"Will you at least assure everyone-?" TK began.

"I'll tell them something... when the time is right," Sora said.

"Promise?" TK asked.

Sora nodded, "I promise. I'll let them know that something's going on... but until I see Dr. Kido and find out my current condition, I'm not going to say anything more." She almost had to laugh at herself. For the longest time, she had been the one to take care of TK. She had been the one looking over him and helping him decide right from wrong. She could remember being there to help him make the correct decisions and teach him about people and life. But now, he turned around and tried to take care of her. It was true, TK had really grown up since about eight years ago when she first met him. He was no longer just a kid.

"Okay," TK said. He gave Sora a warm embrace, "_This_ is what's for the best, Sora." He smiled, "You want me to walk you home? Or are you going to go straight to Dr. Kido's?"

Sora shook her head, "Well, I was planning on going, but I-"

"You're scared of the results," TK finished for her. He nodded, "I can come with you." He looked down when his pager went off.

"Kari?" Sora smirked. She craned her neck to see TK's pager.

TK nodded, "Yeah, she just got out of cheerleading practice and she wants to go out to eat."

"Go ahead then," Sora said.

"Why don't you come with us?" TK asked hopeful, "Then we'll brave the doctor's office together. I'm sure Kari will understand. She'll want to know."

Sora began to shake her head, but saw that TK wouldn't take no for an answer. He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him, "Come on, Sora. What you need now are friends to hang out with." Sora reluctantly went along.

Tai rounded the corner across the street and watched the two leave. He had arrived to see Sora crying in TK's embrace, but that was about it. He saw them speak and then he watched as TK received a page from Kari and the two headed off. Whatever it was that TK had said to Sora, it had made her seem a little cheerier than he had seen her the past few days. Sora didn't smile brightly, but for the first time that week, Tai saw a more sincere expression than he'd been seeing.

__

Sora's sad, Tai thought, _Why was Sora crying? What's going on?_

----------

"I saw you and Sora talking today," Tai said as he walked into the kitchen.

TK looked up from the television as did Kari. They exchanged glances.

"So what did you guys talk about?" Tai asked. Not exactly having been his usual cheery self lately, he had no intention of dropping hints on what information he wanted to ask about. He would just say straight out what he wanted to say and hope that he would receive an also straightforward reply. He popped open his can of pop and began drinking from it.

TK and Kari both tried to give the older brown-haired boy their most innocent "I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about" look.

"I went off to lunch with Joe today," Tai said, "Then I saw Sora with you." He looked directly at TK.

"Tai..." TK remembered the conversation he had with Sora earlier. He knew that Sora would never break a promise and so he in turn promised her that he would allow her to explain everything when the time was right.

"Well?" Tai said beginning to feel more irritated than he already was. He had seen how hurt Sora looked. He had seen how Sora had cried on TK's shoulder. Now he wanted more than anything to find out what it was that was going on with Sora.

"Tai," TK began, "I don't know what to say to you." And it really was true. This situation with Sora had put him into quite a dilemma. On one hand, he knew that he had to tell Tai. The misunderstanding between him and Sora had gone on for too long and on top of that, Tai hadn't been the same since... He was never happy anymore and spent a lot of his time moping. It was only a day ago that he had begun gathering himself again; but even so, everyone could still tell how much he was hurting over Sora.

Tai crumpled his now empty can, having gulped down all the pop in less than a couple seconds. He breathed in deeply feeling annoyed and very angry, but he forced himself to calm a little bit knowing that getting on TK's case would probably just prevent the boy from saying anything at all.

"Come on, TK," Tai said, "I know something's up. You can tell me."

TK stood his ground and shook his head, "I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what you're talking about, Tai."

"Look," Tai said trying his best to contain the slowly sprouting rage within, "I'm trying to be straight forward with you. The least you could do is the same thing. Don't lie to me, TK." Though he remained calm, TK could still see the hurt in his eyes, now encompassed in anger.

"Tai," TK said, "There really isn't anything I can tell you. And yes, I did run into Sora today, but I still can't tell you anything."

"TK-" Tai began again, his right hand unwittingly closed together and his knuckles were turning white from the tight fist he now had.

"I just can't, T-" TK didn't even get a chance to finish off his statement. Blinded by anger, Tai had grabbed TK's shirt collar and pulled him up close.

"I don't want to hear 'I can't,' TK!" Tai said between clenched teeth. He then began raising his voice causing TK to turn his head, "I want to know what's going on with Sora! I know something is wrong. When I saw you guys today, she was crying! I could see the hurt in her eyes. Do you have any idea how it feels to know that the one person you love is in pain, but you don't even know why?!"

TK took a deep breath and faced Tai with a stern face. TK just stood there, not even squirming or trying to break free. He knew exactly how strong Tai was, despite the fact that TK was equally strong.

"Tai," TK said, "I can't tell you anything."

"TK," Tai said, "I'm not asking you. I'm telling you: I want to know what's going on with Sora. I know you know. Just tell me!" His strong arm instinctly began to lift the poor young blonde off of the ground, but stopped when a pair of delicate hands were placed on his.

"Tai, stop this!" Kari cried with the same anger as her own brother, but toned down enough to keep her rational, "It's not TK's fault, he promised Sora that he wouldn't say anything about her situation."

"You know too?" Tai didn't even attempt to lower the younger boy as he glanced over at his sister.

Kari nodded, "Yes, Tai. Put TK down." She sounded stern, but not stern enough for Tai to obey.

"Why are you keeping this from me?!" Tai asked angrily whiling roughly yanking TK a good six inches off the ground.

"I said stop it Tai!" Kari cried, "Sora asked us not to tell anyone about her heart problem!! And the only reason I agreed was because she promised that she'd clear everything with everyone when the time was right!"

That was all it took to make Tai crack. His angered expression immediately faded. TK was dropped back onto his feet as Tai stood there with a confused and blank look on his face.

"What?" was all Tai could choke out from the sudden surprise information he received.

"Kari," TK said softly shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, TK," Kari said, becoming calmed now, "I had to. There was no way I'd have been able to keep this from Tai." TK nodded in understanding and knew that this would have probably been the best thing to do.

"Tai," Kari put an arm around his right arm, hugging him tightly, "Sora's sick. She never intended to hurt you or anyone at all. She just didn't want anyone to worry about her." Kari looked up at her big brother's confused expression, "Tai, Sora didn't want you to have to go through the pain that she's been going through... not the physical pain from her heart disease, but the emotional pain that would come with it. And so she pushed everyone away from her, hoping to be able to swallow all the pain herself."

"She..." Tai didn't know what to say.

"Tai," Kari said, "I know you'd rather hear this from her personally, but Sora really loves you. She never stopped loving you."

Tai looked at his sister and she nodded with reassuring eyes. She didn't like seeing her brother so hurt. She equally didn't want to see the strong mother-like figure in her life go through pain either. She had agreed that she'd keep her mouth shut so long as Sora kept her bargain of the agreement by coming out and explaining her situation. But in a situation like this, Kari just decided that it'd be best to let the one love of Sora's life to know what she was going through...

----------

Sora sighed and rested her head on the pillow of her bed. She couldn't sleep. She felt too anxious and very, very restless. A total of three of her friends knew about her problem now. She sighed again, louder this time.

Flashback

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Kari sat back in shock. She looked at TK with a hurt expression, "You knew?"

"I just found out," TK said grimly, "I ran into Sora before you paged me."

Kari looked into Sora's eyes, "Is this why you hurt my brother?" She almost felt enraged, but at the same time she felt confused and still surprised.

"Believe me Kari," Sora began choking on her words a little, "I- I never had the intention of hurting Tai-" she felt a tear trickle down her cheek and she buried her face in her hands "-I would never ever do anything to intentionally hurt Tai. I just- I don't know... I- I love Tai... more than anything in the world... more than my own life. I just- I never wanted to hurt him and I know I did. I know I messed up this time..."

"She's been keeping this bottled up inside of her for the longest time," TK said, "She's been suffering ever since she found out. Pushing Tai away only killed her inside even more."

Kari sighed, "I'm sorry Sora."

Sora shook her head, "No, it's my fault. I feel so bad."

End of Flashback

__

Tai, I hope you'll understand, Sora blinked away the incoming tears.

"Sora?" a sweet voice called from outside her door.

Sora pulled herself up, "Come in, Mama."

The door opened and the middle-aged woman came in with a sad smile, "How are you feeling? You certainly kept this a secret for long enough." Sora could see the tiredness in her mother's eyes along with the sadness.

"I'm sorry, Mama," Sora said looking down at her hands, "I just didn't want anyone to worry."

"You know I would have eventually found out," her mother sat down on Sora's bed next to her, "Dr. Rei is a good friend of ours. She would have told me soon enough. I'm just glad that I heard it from you."

"Oh, Mama," Sora felt tears welling in her eyes, but blinked them away. She leaned forward and embraced her mother warmly.

"But what about your friends?"

Sora pulled back and looked her mother in the eye, "I..."

"I know for a fact that you and your friends are very close. They're almost like a second family to you. Are you planning on telling... anyone else?" her mother said the last two words in a way to indicate that she was referring to one certain person. Sora immediately caught on and shook her head.

"I don't know, Mama," Sora said, "I can't tell him... It's hard enough knowing this myself. It's going to be even harder telling him." She hung her head.

"I may not be an expert," her mother said raising Sora's face, "But I am your mother... and I know that deep down, you really care about this boy. And he loves you more than his own life. For this reason, he deserves to know... But in the end, whether you decide to tell him or not, that's your decision."

Sora looked back down, "I promised TK and Kari that I would tell everyone... and I never break promises... but..."

Mrs. Takenouchi shook her head, "Promises are just bonds. Though they should never be broken, it doesn't take too much to do so."

"I saw Dr. Kido today," Sora said, "He told me that he'd have the results of my check-up by tomorrow." She chuckled, "He made a little bit of an exception for me because of Joe."

"Whatever the results may be," Mrs. Takenouchi put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "You do whatever you think is for the best, Sora. Just follow your heart. You know how." She smiled and then left Sora's room after giving her daughter one more long tight embrace.

Sora lowered herself back down on the bed and closed her eyes, "I just hope everything goes alright." She opened her eyes and stared out the window at the moon, "I'm sorry, Tai. I never meant to hurt you. I... love you."

~*~*~*~*~*~

He looked around the huge park. Loose dry leaves blew in all directions via the cold, nippy breeze. He paid no heed to the sudden unexpected coldness for this summer day. To him, it was nothing compared to the emotional coldness he felt from the empty void and the sadness in his heart. Nonetheless, he shoved his hands into his wool pockets and proceeded to wander around with no definite destination.

He watched as children ran around laughing and screaming... Parents yelling at those kids to be careful... But none of this excitement brought any type of warmness to his broken heart.

***

She brushed a lock of her auburn hair out of her face. A blank, almost uncaring, yet expecting expression was lain upon her delicate face that used to be full of cheer, strength and love. Her head slowly raised as she heard her name being called. 

To her, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she made her way toward the doctor's office. Her heart was beating at a very rapid pace. She held her breath and felt a dizzy spell come over her, but forced herself to ignore it. Instead, she whirled around on her feet and dashed out of the office, paying no attention to the nurse who was calling to her.

***

Tai sat down on an empty park bench. He sighed sadly, staring out at the group of children happily chasing the ball around in a game of soccer. His mind drifted off... He had known his best friend since he was a little boy, but it was on the soccer field that he had been formerly introduced. And it was also on that same soccer field that they had fallen in love and became the best of friends.

He sighed thinking about what had happened over the past couple days...

After TK and Kari had, so nicely, told him about Sora's current condition, he didn't know what he had to do. He knew that he had to be there for her, yet he also realized that seeing her would cause both of them to break down in sadness. He had _tried_ to find her just so he could be by her side, but each time, she had avoided any type of contact with him. And he knew exactly why...

***

Sora ran. She didn't stop. She was too afraid... scared of what the end results for her were. She was scared that seeing Dr. Kido would only be telling her how much longer she had to live. It felt like a death sentence.

She finally slowed to a stop in the middle of the large park. She caught her breath and slumped down onto the nearest bench, then buried her face in her hands.

__

Why is all of this happening to me? Sora lifted her head. She looked at her bag and slowly opened it to pull out that horrid business envelope. The one that carried the bad news she had received only days and days ago. She felt a lump form in her throat, but shrugged it away. She laid the envelope next to her and then proceeded to stare blankly out at the young children playing soccer.

Sora almost smiled remembering that it was on a soccer field that she fell in love with her best friend. It was on a soccer field that she first formally met her brown haired knight in shining armor. But her smile quickly faded... It had become such a nuisance... her conscience was. She could kill herself right now. Time after time, Tai had come looking for her... Time after time, she had pushed him away or altogether avoided him. She regretted treating him the way she did. She wanted to have him near her... but just thinking that if her end results turned out that her condition was incurable, then she and Tai would never be together. This made her want to push him away even more... to get over with the pain before they became any closer to each other... before she had a chance to hurt him even more...

***

Tai leaned back and rubbed his face. He felt tired. He felt sad. He was feeling just about anything but happy and joyful right now. He let out a deep breath and stood up. _Maybe walking will help more,_ he thought heading around the park again.

He stopped in his tracks though. Sitting merely a few feet away from him, was his angel... the love of his life...

"Sora," Tai whispered. Determined not to let her get away this time, he approached her as she buried her head in her hands for the second time since she got there. He knew that she could sense someone coming toward her, but she made no attempt at looking up nor acknowledge his presence.

Slowly, he reached out a hand to her and set it on her shoulder. He felt her stiffen up a little as he sat down next to the beautiful girl. She still refused to look up, but spoke with her sweet voice, tinted with an attempt at rudeness, "Go away."

He swallowed and spoke her name. He could immediately feel the girl tense up as she slowly raised her head to face him. Their eyes met. He felt the sadness and pain in his heart intensify when he saw the also hurt engulfed crimson ruby eyes of the one he loved.

She looked away, but he raised a soft warm hand to turn her back around. With one hand he wiped away a solitaire tear that had managed to escape those beautiful eyes. He smiled sadly at her hoping that he could somehow reassure her that everything would be alright... hoping that he could reassure himself that everything would be alright. He watched sadly as Sora's eyes began to tear up again.

Before he knew it though, she brushed away his hand and jumped to her feet. In the same split second, he jumped up after her and grabbed her arm. He forcefully whirled her back around to face him as she tried to runaway from him.

__

I can't let her go, Tai thought, _I can't let her run from me anymore. I need her and she needs me. I need to be by her side._

Sora's eyes watered. "Tai," she squeaked out, but was inaudible to the world. She began to sob uncontrollably, breaking down and throwing her arms around her best friend, then burying her face in his shoulder.

Tai instinctively wrapped his arms around her tightly- he didn't want to ever let her go again. "Don't worry, Sora," Tai whispered to her, "Everything will be alright. I'm going to be here for you, no matter what. I'm never ever leaving your side... ever..."

"Tai," Sora cried still sobbing. She pulled her head up to look at his face... that outstandingly handsome face... She rested her forehead on his chest as she continued to cry her heart out, "I'm so sorry, Tai."

"Shh..." Tai said smoothing out the girl's auburn red hair.

Sora looked up at him as she began to stop her tears from falling, "I'm sorry, Tai. I- I never ever meant to hurt you."

"I know, Sora," Tai wiped away the tears that had streaked her face, "I know."

They looked deep into each other's eyes and for the first time in a long time, they could see in each other, something else besides the hurt and the sorrow... For the first time since all this had begun... a feeling of warmth and a feeling of happiness could be seen in the two lovers' eyes once again. Warmth, happiness, joy, relief, sincerity...

"I love you," they both said at the same moment.

... and love.

Sora pulled back into the warm embrace and held on to him tightly, and Tai did the same. He kissed his beloved lightly on the top of her head and closed his eyes. He finally felt like himself again... he finally felt the empty void disappear and he was finally whole, with more... And Sora... Sora was feeling the exact same...

_________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you liked it. I tried my best. After the last chapter, I'll have two complete fics now.

Yeah, and I know, I know, hurry up and finish The Ancient Prophecy of Light. Hurry and take care of Pride and Love. I'm working on them... And about ten other ideas that are in the process of being written.... I'm pathetic.

Don't worry, people, there's more. Unless you want to end it right there, which is your decision. I'm in the middle of righting the next part, which will be the epilogue.... Probably Sora's results and everything... It'll be pretty short, but I wanted to make sure that I could end this off in a happy way.

Thanx and don't forget to review.


	3. epilogue

Okay, here it is. I have to apologize... I sincerely apologize for taking so long to get this out. I had it finished already, but something happened and I wasn't able to post any of my stories. So here it is. The last part of Heartbreak... it's quite a stupid name... But anyways... the epilogue to Heartbreak. So, for all of you Taiora lovers, here's another one of my stupid stories... I promise I will finish up Pride and Love as soon as I possibly can. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback for that story and I plan to give all of you what you like to read.

To my readers... if I have any... Thank you so much for your reviews. I appreciate it and I'm going to do my best to write more good fics.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

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(Epilogue)

Resting her head on Tai's shoulder, Sora took a small glance around the waiting room of Dr. James Kido's office and chuckled a little. It was probably one of the most awkward crowds ever to enter the well known cardiologist's waiting room. She looked up at Tai and smiled warmly, no longer having to force herself to fake it. She no longer seemed to care about her problem anymore... so long as she and Tai were together, she felt... right...

"What is it?" Tai asked. He pulled her tighter against him via the arm that was already wrapped around her and she snuggled into his chest.

"Do you really think it was necessary that they all come?" Sora whispered softly.

Tai glanced out at his eight other friends scattered about the waiting room:

Matt paced back and forth at the far end of the waiting room in front of the glass door entrance. Occasionally, he would glance up at the front of the room, or glance around. Mostly, he would look in Tai and Sora's direction sadly, but smile because he knew they had each other now.

Izzy and Yolei sat next to each other staring blankly at a _Times_ magazine that had a column over computers, because they had decided to leave their handy-dandy laptops at home. It barely looked as if they were really reading the column though, only staring at the magazine.

Because of the lack of chairs, TK stood leaning against a corner of the waiting room next to Tai and Sora. His arms were wrapped around Kari's waist while she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Kari held onto TK's hands with her own and the two smiled reassuringly down at Tai and Sora.

Lastly, Davis, Cody and Ken were leaning against a wall across from Tai and Sora. Davis held a soccer magazine, looking for where he claimed his name "should be." Cody wrung his hands nervously, while giving Sora an occasional glance that was either a smile or a saddened expression. And Ken... he just stood there with his arms crossed and looking down at the ground.

Tai smiled at the eight of their group of twelve friends. The only two missing were Joe and Mimi- Joe because he was working and Mimi because she was in America. He looked back down to Sora who looked like she was in the most comfortable place right in his arms.

"They all just want to be here for you," Tai whispered. Sora nodded and mouthed, "I know."

She then sighed, "I'm glad that Dr. Kido let me come back here. I thought that after I'd walked out last time-"

"Joe said that it was only natural for people to be scared," Tai interjected, "Remember? He told us that his father didn't mind. So long as we don't run away _this _time."

"That's why they're here," Sora indicated to their friends, "To make sure I go through with it this time and not run away."

"I'll be here by your side too," Tai said giving Sora a light peck on her cheek.

"Hey, I went through a lot of trouble talking my dad into letting you come back here," chuckled a familiar voice.

Tai and Sora looked up and saw Joe standing before them. They smiled in greeting.

"Just kidding," Joe said, "Dad wouldn't mind one way or the other." He squatted next to the two and put his hand on Sora's, "Whatever the results are, Sora, you know we're all here for you." As he said this, Matt had moved from his place next to Joe, Izzy and Yolei scooted closer, and Davis, Cody and Ken were also now standing over them. Being the closest to them in the first place, TK and Kari stayed where they were.

"By the looks of all your faces," Sora joked, "You'd think one of _you_ were here to see Dr. Kido instead of me. I'm really alright now." She glanced up at Tai and smiled; he returned the smile.

"Aren't they cute?" Kari whispered to her boyfriend. He responded with a smile and kiss to her cheek.

"You guys..." Sora said. She sighed, "I guess the only reason I was so scare in the first place was... well..."

"It was a sudden thing," Kari spoke for her, "You were confused."

"You didn't want any of us to know," Tai said, "You didn't want any of us to worry about you, or become saddened by the news. That put even more weight on your shoulders."

"It's human nature to be afraid," Joe said, "But you should never think that keeping things like this to yourself is a good thing."

Sora nodded, "I guess I learned the hard way. I'm just glad that all of you are still by my side."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Matt asked, "We're friends."

"We're more family than we are just friends," TK chimed in, "Whatever happens to one of us..."

"... we all take it on together," Kari finished.

"Sora Takenouchi," the familiar nurse's voice called out.

Everyone looked up immediately. Sora tensed up a little bit as the feeling of fear that she thought was gone came back, sending a chill up her spine. Noticing this, Tai hugged Sora to reassure her that everything would be alright.

"Tai?" Sora said softly. Tai gave her a questioning look, "Stay with me. Please."

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Tai smiled.

The two stood up, Tai's arm still around Sora's tense body, and headed through their group of friends and into Dr. Kido's office.

"I really hope that everything will be alright," Kari sighed, "I'd really hate to think that-" TK shushed her with a finger to her lips. He shook his head and spoke, "Everything will be okay. Sora's too good of a person to deserve anything painful."

"Joe?" Cody asked the older boy, "Do you know-?"

Joe shook his head, "I work in a completely different department from my dad. And there's a confidentiality code in this hospital. Unless the patient okays anything, none of the hospital staff is to ever mention anything at all. That goes for family, so even if my dad knew anything, he has to get the okay from Sora before he tells anyone else."

"You mean he can't even tell you?" Davis asked. Joe shook his head.

"How long will they be in there?" Matt asked.

Joe shrugged, "Depends on the news." He looked around, "Where's Sora's mom?"

"She wanted to come," Kari answered, "But she has to finish up the flower arrangements for some big wedding for one of her biggest clients. Sora insisted that she stay in the flower shop and finish it up."

Joe nodded and looked toward his father's office. He sighed, "Well, I better get back to work. I was on break, so I decided to come by and see how Sora was doing."

"We'll tell you about it when they come back out," Matt said patting his friend on the back as he left.

***

"Have a seat, Ms. Takenouchi," Dr. Kido said.

"Call me Sora, Dr. Kido," Sora said.

Dr. Kido smiled, "Joe told me about you. He was right too."

"Pardon?" Sora asked pulling Tai to sit down into the seat next to her.

"He says that you're one of the sweetest girls he'd ever met," Dr. Kido said, "Like the older sister he never had, yet you are younger than him."

Sora blushed, "Well..."

"Sora takes care of all of us like an older sister or a mother," Tai smiled squeezing his love's hand.

"Yes," Dr. Kido said, "Joe said that." He cleared his throat, "Anyways... you obviously know why you're here today. You're not going to run out on me again, now are you?"

Sora glanced at Tai who smiled warmly at her. She turned back to Dr. Kido and, with another reassuring squeezed from Tai's hand, she shook her head, "I'm ready to hear it."

Dr. Kido smiled, "Okay then..." He pulled a beige folder from the side of his desk and opened it up. He glanced up at Sora with an illegible expression.

Tai scooted closer to Sora and put his arm around her again, "Whatever happens, I'll be with you through it all," he whispered. Sora smiled and nodded. They both looked back at Dr. Kido who had an unnoticeable mischievous grin tugging at his lips.

"Well," he began, "Would you like to hear the good new first or the bad news first?"

Tai and Sora just looked at each other not knowing how to answer.

"Oh," Dr. Kido said as the other door to his office opened, "I hope you don't mind, but I asked someone else to be here." He turned his head toward the door as a familiar face walked in smiling warmly at Sora.

***

"It's been a while," Cody said, now pacing where Matt had been a while ago.

"No," Izzy said, "It's actually only been about five minutes."

"Calm down, Cody," Kari said, "Sora's going to be fine. I know."

"You sound pretty confident," Yolei looked up at Kari with a slight hint of skepticism in her voice.

"Nothing bad could ever happen to Sora," TK answered for his girlfriend, "It just wouldn't be right."

Yolei sighed sadly, "I hope so." She leaned back on the chair. Izzy wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulder as a friendly gesture to assure Yolei.

"Sora's right," Kari giggled, "we all seem to be more nervous about this than she is."

Everyone chuckled at Kari's statement, all agreeing.

"What's so funny?"

The group turned their heads to see Tai and Sora walk out of the office. Both of them had an unreadable expression.

"So..." Yolei questioned trying not to sound demanding. She had hopped to her feet with Izzy standing right next to her.

Sora exchanged glances with Tai and then hung her head sighing.

The group exchanged glances among themselves. Their hearts sank as they carelessly guessed what the results to Sora's check-up had stated.

"Oh no, Sora," Izzy spoke first.

Sora and Tai sighed. Tai pulled Sora closer to him.

"But," Yolei looked at a now stunned Kari and TK, "But Kari said that..."

"Was there a mistake?" TK asked feeling panicked and saddened.

"This can't be," Kari whispered.

Tai exchanged glances at Sora again, but this time the two couldn't help, but smile a little impishly. This exchange, however, went unnoticed to their friends.

Matt came up and hugged Sora, then put his hand on Tai's shoulder, "I'm so sorry you guys." He seemed a little pained.

"But, Kari said that you'd be okay," Yolei said. Her eyes seemed to tear up a little, "Kari?" Kari didn't answer Yolei, she just turned around and buried her face in TK's shoulders. Yolei felt herself beginning to tremble. One of the people she looked up to... Sora was like a big sister to her... Izzy, again wrapped his arm around the violet haired girl and hugged her tightly.

"Why so gloomy?" Dr. Rei exited Dr. Kido's office and stood behind Sora and Tai, "I thought good news was supposed to make people happy."

"Good news?" Matt asked feeling a little angered, but confused.

"Yes," Dr. Rei smiled. She put a hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora and Tai now smiled openly with a devilish glint in their eyes.

"You guys..." Matt began.

"I'm alright, you guys," Sora said smiling. She tried to hold it back, but a small tear escaped from her eyes. She looked up at Tai happily and then, again, smiled out at all her supporting friends.

Kari immediately whirled back around and like everyone else gave Sora a surprised and confused look. Kari blinked a couple times in confusion, but then glanced up at TK in understanding. Sora's tears didn't come from sadness of knowing bad news... they were tears of joy... tears of relief...

"Sora..." Kari began.

"It was all a big mistake," Dr. Rei responded for the overjoyed Sora, "But on the other hand, it wasn't."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Izzy asked.

"The murmur that I had heard in Sora's heart during her first check up and her second didn't really mean anything," Dr. Rei said, "I'm not an expert in this field of study, but after reviewing Sora's past medical records and her family medical records, I thought it'd be a good idea for her to see a doctor who _would_ be able to tell her exactly what the heart murmurs meant.

"Dr. Kido found them to mean nothing at all," Dr. Rei continued, "I must admit, I was very panicked when I thought that there may have been something wrong."

"So, Sora's really okay?" Cody asked, "She has no health problem, no heart problem?"

"Not precisely," Dr. Rei said.

"Because of school and everything," Sora replied, "I haven't really been taking care of myself. You know, constant intake of caffeine, unhealthy eating habits, not enough sleep, overstressed... Stuff like that. Dr. Kido said that the possibility of me developing a heart problem, though, isn't small. You know, because of my past medical history and all."

"But wait," TK said, "The other day when I ran into you, you looked really pale..."

"I was overstressed and my mind was playing games with me because I was so scared," Sora explained.

"So you really are okay?" Yolei asked wiping away her unshed tears.

"She just needs to start taking care of herself again," Tai said, "And I'm going to make sure she does."

Dr. Rei became serious, "Sora has a long healthy life ahead of her. But if you're not careful, like your aunt, you may develop what she was diagnosed with. Remember that."

Sora nodded and Tai spoke, "I'll make sure she does." He looked down into his loves eyes and she looked back. Smiling, she mouthed a "Thank you, Tai." She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, kissing him with all the love she had. He kissed her back with his warm loving lips, knowing deep down that everything would always be alright as long as they were together.

"Get a room, you two," someone teased followed by a couple laughs.

Tai and Sora just smiled and continued their lip lock hoping to ignore the whole world to make their happy moment last. They were together now, and there was nothing in their way. They would face future obstacles together... it was as simple as that.

________________________________________________________________________________

Alrighty!! It's finished. My second complete fic! Yay! We need to celebrate.... or not...

But anyways, thank you all for sticking with this fic for so long.

And I have to say, I'm very, very sorry for the cheesy and stupid ending... I got a little ahead of myself when I wrote this. I have absolutely not very much knowledge of medical stuff... so please don't flame me for that.

Please review. Thanx. 


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